Image pickup and reproducing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An image pickup position information acquisition unit acquires, from a position fixing unit, position information of an image pickup location of a moving image being picked up. A preceding image pickup position information storage unit stores position information of a preceding image pickup location as preceding image pickup position information. A change point detector compares the image pickup position information and the preceding image pickup position information. If the position indicated by the image pickup position information is spaced apart from the position indicated by the preceding image pickup position information by a predetermined distance, the change point detector detects the current position as a change point. The change point is recorded onto a change point position information. Thumbnail data generated by a thumbnail generator is recorded as a change point thumbnail.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication JP 2005-327595 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Nov.11, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for picking up andreproducing images and, in particular, to method and apparatus forpicking images, method and apparatus for reproducing images, and methodand apparatus for picking up and reproducing images, and programs forcausing a computer to perform theses methods.

2. Description of the Related Art

Image pickup apparatuses for picking up moving images are in widespreaduse. A lot of users enjoy picking up moving images. Since the operationof the image pickup apparatus is easy, the user can shoot variouslandscapes, streets, etc. at will, and as a result, a vast amount ofmoving image data is accumulated.

When a vast amount of data is accumulated, the user cannot memorizelocations of captured data even if the user shoots himself. It is thusnecessary to associate pickup position with captured moving image datasomehow. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2003-18506 discloses a recording system that records video data capturedby a camera and position data acquired from a global positioning system(GPS) with one associated with the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the disclosed technique, the video data and theposition data are recorded so that the position is displayed based onthe position data during playback of the video data. With this knowntechnique, recording timing of the position data is not known. If allposition data is recorded at regular intervals during the shooting ofthe moving image, a large amount of memory size is consumed depending onthe length of the intervals. If the position data is recorded on a permoving image file, accurate image pickup position cannot be recordedwhen shooting is performed with location shifted.

It is thus desirable to efficiently record the position informationcorresponding to the moving data and to precisely display the positiondata during playback.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an imagepickup apparatus includes a moving image recording unit for recording acaptured image as moving image data, an image pickup positioninformation acquisition unit for acquiring, as image pickup positioninformation, position information regarding an image pickup locationduring recording of the moving image data, a preceding image pickupposition information storage unit for storing, as preceding image pickupposition information, the image pickup position information acquired bythe image pickup position information acquisition unit, a change pointdetecting unit for detecting a change point indicating that a positionrepresented by the image pickup position information has changed from aposition represented by the preceding image pickup position information,by comparing the image pickup position information with the precedingimage pickup position information, and a change point positioninformation recording unit for recording, as change point positioninformation, the image pickup position information when the change pointis detected, wherein the preceding image pickup position storage unitstores, as new preceding image pickup position information, the imagepickup position information when the change point is detected. Thechange point is detected during the pickup of the moving image, and theposition information at the change point is stored as the change pointposition information.

Since the change point position information is recorded with the movingimage data associated therewith, the position information correspondingto the moving image data is efficiently recorded.

The change point detecting unit may detect the change point when adistance between the position represented by the image pickup positioninformation and the position represented by the preceding image pickupposition information increases above a predetermined distance or when ageographic name represented by the image pickup position informationbecomes different from a geographic name represented by the precedingimage pickup position information.

The image pickup apparatus may further include a position measurementtimer for counting a time interval between acquisitions of the imagepickup position information, wherein the image pickup positioninformation acquisition unit acquires the image pickup positioninformation each time the position measurement timer counts theacquisition interval. The position information is thus acquired at theconstant intervals.

The image pickup apparatus may further include a motion statusmeasurement unit for measuring a motion status of the image pickupapparatus during image pickup of a moving image, the motion statusincluding information regarding one of a speed and an acceleration ofthe image pickup apparatus, wherein the change point positioninformation recording unit records, as a portion of the change pointposition information, the motion status when the change point isdetected. The motion status is recorded as the portion of the changepoint position information.

The image pickup apparatus may further include a representative imagegenerating unit for generating, as a representative image, a contractedimage of a moving image being picked up when the change point isdetected, and a change point representative image recording unit forrecording the representative image as a change point representativeimage. The representative image at the change point is recorded. Thechange point position information and the change point representativeimage may be recorded together with the captured moving image data asinformation (metadata) incidental to the moving image data.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a movingimage reproducing apparatus includes a moving image playback unit forreproducing moving image data, a playback position informationacquisition unit for acquiring, as playback position information,position information corresponding to playback time of the moving imagedata reproduced by the moving image playback unit, a geographical nameinformation acquisition unit for acquiring geographical name informationcorresponding to the playback position information, and a display unitfor displaying the moving image data together with a geographical namecontained in the geographical name information. The geographical nameinformation is thus acquired and displayed each time the position of theapparatus changes as the playback of the moving image is in progress.

The moving image reproducing apparatus may further include a precedingplayback position information storage unit for storing, as precedingplayback position information, position information preceding theplayback time, and a playback position information comparing unit fordetecting an unmatch by comparing the playback position information withthe preceding playback position information, wherein the geographicalname information acquisition unit acquires the geographical nameinformation when the unmatch is detected, and wherein the precedingplayback position information storage unit stores, as new precedingplayback position information, the playback position information whenthe unmatch is detected. With this arrangement, the geographical name isacquired and then displayed in response to the occurrence of the unmatchof the position information.

The moving image reproducing apparatus may further include a displayupdate timer for counting acquisition intervals of the playback positioninformation, wherein the playback position information acquisition unitacquires the playback position information each time the display updatetimer counts each acquisition interval. The position information is thusacquired at the constant intervals.

The moving image reproducing apparatus may further include ageographical name information storage unit for storing the geographicalname information corresponding to the position information, wherein thegeographical name information acquisition unit acquires the geographicalname information corresponding to the playback position information bysearching the geographical name information storage unit. The movingimage reproducing apparatus alone acquires the geographical nameinformation without using an external database. The geographical nameinformation storage unit may store, as the geographical nameinformation, a geographical name corresponding to a pair of latitude andlongitude or a geographical name belonging to an area defined by aplurality of pairs of latitudes and longitudes. The use of thegeographical name belonging to the area defined by the plurality ofpairs of latitudes and longitudes provides more accurate geographicalname information, but consumes more memory capacity of the geographicalname information storage unit.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a movingimage reproducing apparatus includes an incidental information storageunit for storing a contracted image of moving image data at apredetermined time and position information of an image pickup locationof the contracted image with the contracted image associated with theposition information, a geographical name information acquisition unitfor acquiring geographical name information corresponding to theposition information, a display unit for displaying the contracted imagetogether with a geographical name contained in the geographical nameinformation, an operation unit for receiving a selection command of thecontracted image displayed on the display unit, and a moving imageplayback unit for reproducing the moving image data starting at timecorresponding to the contracted image selected by the selection command.The moving image data is reproduced by selecting the contracted imagedisplayed together with the geographical name.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a movingimage pickup and reproducing apparatus includes a moving image recordingunit for recording a captured image as moving image data, an imagepickup position information acquisition unit for acquiring, as imagepickup position information, position information regarding an imagepickup location during recording of the moving image data, a precedingimage pickup position information storage unit for storing, as precedingimage pickup position information, the image pickup position informationacquired by the image pickup position information acquisition unit, achange point detecting unit for detecting a change point indicating thata position represented by the image pickup position information haschanged from a position represented by the preceding image pickupposition information, by comparing the image pickup position informationwith the preceding image pickup position information, a change pointposition information recording unit for recording, as change pointposition information, the image pickup position information when thechange point is detected, a moving image playback unit for reproducingthe moving image data recorded on the moving image recording unit, aplayback position information acquisition unit for acquiring, asplayback position information, the change point position informationcorresponding to playback time of the moving image data reproduced bythe moving image playback unit, a geographical name informationacquisition unit for acquiring geographical name informationcorresponding to the playback position information, and a display unitfor displaying the moving image data together with a geographical namecontained in the geographical name information. With this arrangement,the change point is detected during the pickup of the moving image, theposition information is recorded as the change point positioninformation. During the playback of the moving image, the geographicalname information is acquired and displayed each time the positionchanges with the progress of the playback of the moving image.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a movingimage pickup and reproducing apparatus includes a moving image recordingunit for recording a captured image as moving image data, an imagepickup position information acquisition unit for acquiring, as imagepickup position information, position information regarding an imagepickup location during recording of the moving image data, a precedingimage pickup position information storage unit for storing, as precedingimage pickup position information, the image pickup position informationacquired by the image pickup position information acquisition unit, achange point detecting unit for detecting a change point indicating thata position represented by the image pickup position information haschanged from a position represented by the preceding image pickupposition information, by comparing the image pickup position informationwith the preceding image pickup position information, a change pointposition information recording unit for recording, as change pointposition information, the image pickup position information when thechange point is detected, a representative image generating unit forgenerating, as a representative image, a contracted image of the movingimage being picked up when the change point is detected, a change pointrepresentative image recording unit for recording the representativeimage as a change point representative image, a geographical nameinformation acquisition unit for acquiring geographical name informationcorresponding to the change point position information, a display unitfor displaying the change point representative image, corresponding tothe change point position information, together with a geographical namecontained in the geographical name information, an operation unit forreceiving a selection command of the contracted image displayed on thedisplay unit, and a moving image playback unit for reproducing themoving image data starting at time corresponding to the change pointrepresentative image selected by the selection command, wherein thepreceding playback position information storage unit stores, as newpreceding playback position information, the image pickup positioninformation when the change point is detected. With this arrangement,the change point is detected during the pickup of the moving image, andthe position information and the contracted image are recorded. Byselecting the contracted image displayed together with the geographicalname acquired based on the position information, the moving image datais reproduced.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, each of animage pickup method and a computer program for causing a computer toperform the image pickup method includes the steps of acquiring, asimage pickup position information, position information regarding animage pickup location when a captured image is recorded as moving imagedata, detecting a change point indicating that a position represented bythe image pickup position information has changed from a positionrepresented by image pickup position information preceding the firstimage pickup position information, by comparing the image pickupposition information with the preceding image pickup positioninformation, and recording, as change point position information, theimage pickup position information when the change point is detected. Thechange point is detected during the pickup of the moving image, and theposition information then obtained is recorded as the change pointposition information.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, each ofa reproducing method and a program for causing a computer to perform themethod includes the steps of acquiring, as playback positioninformation, position information corresponding to playback time ofmoving image data, detecting an unmatch by comparing the playbackposition information with playback position information preceding thefirst playback position information, acquiring geographical nameinformation corresponding to the playback position information when theunmatch is detected, and displaying the moving image data together witha geographical name contained in the geographical name information. Eachtime the position changes with the progress of the playback of themoving image, the geographical name information is acquired anddisplayed.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the positioninformation corresponding to the moving image data is efficientlyrecorded, and the position information is precisely displayed duringplayback.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image pickup apparatus of one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating the image pickupapparatus of the embodiment of the present invention for recording amoving image;

FIG. 3 illustrates recording timing of metadata in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a file structure of a moving image file in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a data structure of position information inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a data structure of common information of theposition information in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a data structure of particular information of theposition information in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the image pickup apparatus in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention for reproducing a movingimage;

FIG. 9 illustrates operation of a geographic name informationacquisition unit for acquiring geographic information in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a data structure of a geographic name informationdatabase in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a display example of a moving image selection screenin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a display example of a moving image pre-play screenin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a display example of a moving image playback screenin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a process of moving image recording in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a process of moving image playback in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the present invention are described below withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image pickup apparatus 100 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. The image pickup apparatus100 includes an operation unit 110, a camera 120, a memory 130, adisplay 140, a recorder 150, and a controller 160.

The operation unit 110 for receiving an operation input from a userincludes operation buttons mounted on the image pickup apparatus 100,and a touchpanel integrally mounted on the display 140.

The camera 120 picks up an image of a subject, and includes an opticalblock such as lens, and a signal converter such as a charge-coupleddevice (CCD). The memory 130 serves as a working memory temporarilystoring moving image data captured by the camera 120, and is typically avolatile memory.

The display 140, such as a liquid-crystal display (LCD), displays amoving image being picked up or a playback moving image thereon, and maybe integrally formed with the operation unit 110.

The recorder 150 records the captured moving image data and informationincidental to the moving image data, and is typically a non-volatilememory. The controller 160 controls each block of the image pickupapparatus 100, and is typically a program-controlled microcomputer.

The image pickup apparatus 100 may include or may be connected to a GPSreceiver 170 and a speed/acceleration sensor 180. The GPS receiver 170receives position information relating to the position of the imagepickup apparatus 100 from GPS satellites. The speed/acceleration sensor180 detects speed and acceleration of the image pickup apparatus 100,and is typically composed of a gyro-sensor detecting angular speed andan acceleration sensor detecting acceleration.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating the arrangement forrecording the moving image of the image pickup apparatus 100. There areshown a position fixing unit 210, an image pickup position informationacquisition unit 220, a preceding image pickup position informationstorage unit 230, a change point detector 240, a position fixing timer250, a system timer 260, a thumbnail generator 270, and aspeed/acceleration measurement unit 280.

The position fixing unit 210 fixes a present position of the imagepickup apparatus 100, and for example, uses the GPS external to theimage pickup apparatus 100. The image pickup position informationacquisition unit 220 acquires, from the position fixing unit 210, theposition information of the image pickup location where a moving imageis being picked up. The image pickup position information acquisitionunit 220 corresponds to the GPS receiver 170 of FIG. 1. The precedingimage pickup position information storage unit 230 stores, as precedingimage pickup position information, the position information of the imagepickup location acquired by the image pickup position informationacquisition unit 220. The position information may be latitude andlongitude information acquired from the GPS receiver 170, or may begeographical name information relating to a country name, a city name,and a geographical name acquired using a geographic name informationdatabase 700 to be discussed later with reference to FIG. 8.

The change point detector 240 compares the image pickup positioninformation acquired by the image pickup position informationacquisition unit 220 with the preceding image pickup positioninformation stored by the preceding image pickup position informationstorage unit 230. When a position represented by the image pickupposition information has changed from a position represented by thepreceding image pickup position information, the change point detector240 detects the position represented by the image pickup positioninformation as a “change point.” For example, the change point detector240 may compare information of latitude and longitude stored by thepreceding image pickup position information storage unit 230 withinformation of latitude and longitude represented by the image pickupposition information, and detects as the change point if the twopositions are spaced apart by a predetermined distance or more.Alternatively, the change point detector 240 compares a geographicalname stored by the preceding image pickup position information storageunit 230 with a geographical name represented by the image pickupposition information and detects as the change point if the twogeographical names are different. The predetermined distance may be aslong as a distance across which corresponding geographical namescorresponding to the position information change, and may be fromseveral hundred meters to several kilometers.

If the change point is detected, the change point detector 240 causesthe preceding image pickup position information storage unit 230 tostore the position indicated by the image pickup position information asnew preceding image pickup position information. When the recording ofthe moving image data starts, the preceding image pickup positioninformation storage unit 230 may store the image pickup positioninformation at the start of the recording as the preceding image pickupposition information.

When the change point detector 240 detects the change point, the imagepickup position information acquired by the image pickup positioninformation acquisition unit 220 is stored on the preceding image pickupposition information storage unit 230 as new preceding image pickupposition information. In this case, the image pickup positioninformation acquired by the image pickup position informationacquisition unit 220 is recorded on as change point position information531 in metadata 530. A contracted image of a moving image being pickedup corresponding to the change point position information 531 isgenerated by a thumbnail generator 270 as a thumbnail (representativeimage), and then recorded as change point thumbnail 532 in the metadata530.

The position fixing timer 250 counts acquisition intervals of theposition information of the image pickup position informationacquisition unit 220. The image pickup position information acquisitionunit 220 can acquire the position information from the position fixingunit 210 at regular intervals.

The system timer 260 measures the present time. The present timeprovided by the system timer 260 is recorded as part of the change pointposition information 531 or as information incidental to the changepoint position information 531.

The thumbnail generator 270 generates as the thumbnail the contractedimage of the moving image being picked up when the change point isdetected by the change point detector 240. The thumbnail generated bythe thumbnail generator 270 is recorded on the change point thumbnail532.

The speed/acceleration measurement unit 280 detects a motion status suchas the speed and acceleration of the image pickup apparatus 100, andcorresponds to the speed/acceleration sensor 180 of FIG. 1. Thespeed/acceleration measurement unit 280 may thus include a gyro sensormeasuring angular speed and an acceleration sensor measuringacceleration.

The metadata 530 includes information incidental to the moving imagedata, such as the change point position information 531 and the changepoint thumbnail 532. The data structure of the metadata 530 will bedescribed later.

FIG. 3 illustrates recording timing of the metadata 530 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. The image pickup apparatus100 picks up the moving image from time t1 to time t4. The image pickupposition information acquisition unit 220 acquires the positioninformation from the position fixing unit 210 at regular intervalsdefined by the position fixing timer 250.

When image pickup starts at time t1, the image pickup positioninformation acquisition unit 220 acquires the position information atposition A and records the position information as change point positioninformation L_(A). The thumbnail generator 270 generates a thumbnail andrecords the generated thumbnail as change point thumbnail P_(A). After aconstant time elapse, the image pickup position information acquisitionunit 220 acquires position information, but records no metadata becausethe present position is not far from a preceding position by apredetermined distance.

After another constant time elapse, the image pickup positioninformation acquisition unit 220 acquires position information at timet2. Since the present position is far from the preceding position A by apredetermined distance, the acquired position information at position Bis recorded as change point position information L_(B). The thumbnailgenerator 270 generates a thumbnail, which is then recorded as a changepoint thumbnail P_(B).

The above operation is repeated. When the image pickup positioninformation acquisition unit 220 acquires position information at timet3, the present position is far from the preceding position B by thepredetermined distance. The acquired position information at position Cis recorded as change point position information L_(C). The thumbnailgenerator 270 generates a thumbnail, which is then recorded as changepoint thumbnail P_(C).

Each time the present position is far from the preceding position by thepredetermined distance, the position information and the thumbnail arerecorded. Metadata is thus efficiently recorded.

FIG. 4 illustrates a file structure of a moving image file 500 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The movingimage file 500 includes a file header 510, moving image data 520,metadata 530, and other data 540.

The file header 510 stores header information of the moving image file500, and thus stores positions (addresses) of the moving image data 520and the metadata 530 in the moving image file 500. The moving image data520 includes a content of a moving image in a compression system such asmoving picture experts group (MPEG).

The metadata 530 contain information incidental to the moving image data520, and includes the change point position information 531 and thechange point thumbnail 532. The change point position information 531contains the position information of the image pickup apparatus 100 whenthe change point detector 240 detects the change point. The change pointthumbnail 532 contains a thumbnail of a moving image being picked upwhen the change point detector 240 detects the change point.

FIG. 5 illustrates a data structure of position information 600 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The positioninformation 600 recorded in the change point position information 531 ofFIG. 4 includes particular information 620, start time 601, and end time602.

The common information 610 contains information common to the entireposition information 600. The particular information 620 relates toinformation particular to each change point. The start time 601 and theend time 602 indicate start time and end time of a moving imagecorresponding to the particular information 620, respectively.

The position information 600 contains the particular information 620 ofa plurality of image pickup positions and start times and end times ofmoving images thereof.

FIG. 6 illustrates a data structure of the common information 610 of theposition information 600 in one embodiment of the present invention. Thecommon information 610 contains GPS tag version 611 of 4 bytes (1 bytebeing 8 bits), and geodetic system 612 of 7 bytes.

The GPS tag version 611 indicates a version of a format used in theparticular information 620. The geodetic system 612 indicates a geodeticsystem of latitude and longitude used in the particular information 620.The geodetic system 612 may be one of Tokyo Datum and World GeodeticSystem WGS-84.

FIG. 7 illustrates a data structure of the particular information 620 ofthe position information 600 in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The particular information 620 contains essentialitems 630 of 100 bytes and optional items 640 of 30 bytes.

The essential items 630 include northern/southern hemisphere indication621 of 2 bytes, latitude 622 of 24 bytes, east/west hemisphereindication 623 of 2 bytes, longitude 624 of 24 bytes, altitudeindication 625 of 1 byte, altitude 626 of 8 bytes, GPS receiver status627 of 2 bytes, position fixing reliability 628 of 8 bytes, positionfixing time 629 of 24 bytes, number of satellites in use 631 of 3 bytes,and GPS position fixing method 632 of 2 bytes. These pieces of data aremeasured by the position fixing unit 210.

The latitude 622 indicates a latitude fixed by the GPS. Thenorthern/southern hemisphere indication 621 indicates whether the fixedposition is in the northern hemisphere or the southern hemisphere. Thelongitude 624 indicates a longitude fixed by the GPS. The east/westhemisphere indication 623 indicates whether the fixed position is in theeast hemisphere or the west hemisphere. The altitude 626 indicates analtitude fixed by the GPS. The altitude indication 625 indicates whetherthe altitude 626 is above sea level or not.

The GPS receiver status 627 indicates whether the GPS position fixing isthe success or failure. The position fixing reliability 628 indicates adilution of precision (DOP) at position fixing, namely, degree ofdegradation of position fixing accuracy, and an index representing oneof four levels (A through D, for example). The position fixing time 629indicates time of GPS fix. The satellites in use 631 indicates thenumber of GPS satellites used in position fixing. The GPS positionfixing method 632 indicates a difference between two-dimensional fixingor three-dimensional fixing.

The optional items 640 includes unit of speed 641 of 2 bytes, speed 642of 8 bytes, unit of bearing 643 of 2 bytes, bearing 644 of 8 bytes, unitof image direction 645 of 2 bytes, and image direction 646 of 8 bytes.These pieces of data are measured by the speed/acceleration measurementunit 280.

The speed 642 indicates a measured speed of the image pickup apparatus100. The unit of speed 641 indicates the unit of the speed indicated bythe speed 642. The bearing 644 indicates the bearing in which the imagepickup apparatus 100 moves. The unit of bearing 643 indicates the unitof the bearing 644. The image direction 646 indicates the direction fromwhich the image is picked up. The unit of image direction 645 indicatesthe unit of the image direction 646.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an arrangement for reproducing amoving image of the image pickup apparatus 100. There are shown a movingimage playback unit 310, a playback position information acquisitionunit 320, a preceding playback position information storage unit 330, aplayback position information comparator 340, a geographic nameinformation acquisition unit 351, a display 360, a display update timer370, and a geographic name information database 700.

The moving image playback unit 310 reproduces a moving image of themoving image data 520. The playback time of the moving image reproducedby the moving image playback unit 310, namely, time corresponding to aportion of the moving image being reproduced serves as an index of thechange point position information 531.

The playback position information acquisition unit 320 indexes thechange point position information 531 using the playback time of themoving image of the moving image playback unit 310, thereby acquiring asplayback position information the position information of the playbackportion of the moving image. More specifically, by comparing the starttime 601 and the end time 602 in the position information 600 with theplayback time, the corresponding portion of the moving image isidentified, and the particular information of the corresponding locationis thus acquired.

The preceding playback position information storage unit 330 stores, aspreceding playback position information, position information precedingthe playback time of the moving image reproduced by the moving imageplayback unit 310. The playback position information comparator 340compares the playback position information acquired by the playbackposition information acquisition unit 320 with the preceding playbackposition information stored by the preceding playback positioninformation storage unit 330, thereby detecting an unmatch therebetween.

If the playback position information comparator 340 detects an unmatch,the playback position information acquired by the playback positioninformation acquisition unit 320 is stored as new preceding playbackposition information onto the preceding playback position informationstorage unit 330.

The geographic name information database 700 stores the geographicalname information and the position information in association with thegeographical name information. When the playback position informationcomparator 340 detects an unmatch, the geographic name informationacquisition unit 351 indexes the geographic name information database700 by the playback position information acquired by the playbackposition information acquisition unit 320, thereby acquiring relatedgeographical name information.

The display 360 displays a moving image, reproduced by the moving imageplayback unit 310, together with a geographical name contained in thegeographical name information acquired by the geographic nameinformation acquisition unit 351. To display the geographical name, thedisplay 360 may employ an on screen display (OSD) circuit. The display360 may also display the latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, bearing,and image direction, contained in the playback position information,together with the geographical name. Furthermore, the display 360 maydisplay the thumbnail, recorded in the change point thumbnail 532,together with the geographical name information and the positioninformation.

The display update timer 370 counts time between acquisition intervalsof the playback position information to update the display on thedisplay 360. Each time the display update timer 370 counts the timebetween acquisition intervals, the playback position informationacquisition unit 320 acquires the playback position information from thechange point position information 531.

FIG. 9 illustrates how the geographic name information acquisition unit351 acquires the geographical name information in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. When the geographical nameinformation of a target location 775 is acquired, a first location 773and a second location 774 are candidates. If the shortest distance issimply used as a guide, the geographical name information of the firstlocation 773 is acquired because a distance L1 to the first location 773is shorter than a distance L2 to the second location 774.

There exist a first area 771 containing the first location 773 as arepresentative location and a second area 772 containing the secondlocation 774 as a representative location, and the target location 775may be present within the area 772. If the shortest distance is simplyaccounted for in such a case, correct geographical name informationcannot be acquired. To display a correct geographical name, the areaneeds to be also considered.

To consider the area, information defining the area needs to be storedon the geographic name information database 700, and it is necessary todetermine during indexing which area the target location belongs to. Inview of the memory capacity and throughput of the geographic nameinformation database 700, the method of determination needs to bestudied beforehand.

FIG. 10 illustrates a data structure of the geographic name informationdatabase 700 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.The geographic name information database 700 herein stores thegeographical name information on a per area basis. More specifically,the geographic name information database 700 stores latitude ofrepresentative location 711, longitude of representative location 712,geographic name of representative location 713, character code 714,geographical level 715, map code 716, country code 717, area code 718,and polygon code 719.

The latitude of representative location 711 and the longitude ofrepresentative location 712 respectively represent the latitude andlongitude of a representative location in the area. The geographic nameof representative location 713 indicates the geographical name of therepresentative location in the area. The character code 714 is acharacter code of the geographic name of representative location 713(such as shift JIS code). The level 715 indicates the geographical levelof the geographic name of representative location 713, such as the statelevel, city level, etc.

The map code 716 indicates the code of a map within which the areafalls. The country code 717 indicates the code of a country, which thearea belongs to. The area code 718 indicates the code of a region towhich the area belongs to.

The polygon code 719 indicates a link to a polygon group defining thearea. The polygon group is defined by N positions (N is an integer).Each position is defined by the latitude 722 and the longitude 723. Theposition count 721 indicates the number of positions (N).

The geographic name information database 700 compares the latitude andlongitude provided by the geographic name information acquisition unit351 with the latitude 722 and the longitude 723 of each position todetermine where the area is located, and supplies the geographical nameinformation of the area to the geographic name information acquisitionunit 351.

FIG. 11 illustrates a display example of a moving image selection screenin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Sixthumbnails are displayed here. Each thumbnail is generated at a changepoint, and read from the change point thumbnail 532. The thumbnail istagged with corresponding year, month and day and image pickup position.The image pickup year, month, and day date are read from the changepoint position information 531, and the image pickup position isacquired by the geographic name information acquisition unit 351 fromthe geographic name information database 700.

A user points to a desired thumbnail using the operation unit 110,thereby reproducing the moving image from the playback time. In thiscase, a user interface may specify the moving image by moving a cursoron the display 360 with direction buttons. If the display 360 isimplemented in a touchpanel, a thumbnail may be directly specified usinga finger or a stylus.

FIG. 12 illustrates a display example of a moving image pre-play screenin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. If aplayback command is issued to reproduce the entire moving image filewithout any operation on the moving image selection screen of FIG. 11, afront page of the moving image file is displayed as a still image, andthe display 360 waits on standby for playback. A geographic name display810 may present a detailed geographical name corresponding to the frontpage of the moving image. Alternatively, the geographic name display 810may present a geographical name of a wide area, indicated in the areacode 718, representing a geographical name of the entire moving imagefile.

The moving image pre-play screen may be called even if a plurality ofthumbnails are selected on the moving image selection screen of FIG. 11.When one thumbnail is selected, the moving image pre-play screen may bedisplayed rather than immediately reproducing the moving image.

FIG. 13 illustrates a display example of a moving image playback screenin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. When themoving image is reproduced, a geographical name display 820corresponding to the playback time is presented. In response to thegeographical name display 820, the position information responsive tothe playback time is acquired from the change point position information531 at regular intervals. When position is shifted with playback beingin progress, the corresponding geographical name information is acquiredfrom the geographic name information database 700. The geographical namedisplay 820 matching the progress of the playback is thus presented.

The geographical name display 820 may include the latitude, longitude,altitude, speed, bearing, and image direction contained in the positioninformation.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a moving image recording process in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. During the pickup of themoving image, the position fixing timer 250 counts time. When positionfixing time comes (step S912), the image pickup position informationacquisition unit 220 acquires the position information of the imagepickup apparatus 100 (step S913). When the position indicated by theacquired position information has been shifted from the positionindicated by the preceding position information, the change pointdetector 240 detects that position as a “change point” (step S914). Thechange point may be detected when the position indicated by the positioninformation is spaced apart from the preceding position by apredetermined distance, or when the geographical name becomes differentfrom the preceding geographical name.

When the change point is detected, the acquired position information isrecorded onto the change point position information 531 (step S915), andthe corresponding thumbnail is recorded onto the change point thumbnail532 (step S916). The currently acquired position information is storedonto the preceding image pickup position information storage unit 230 asnew preceding position information (step S917).

Theses steps are repeated until the image pickup operation is completed(step S911).

FIG. 15 illustrates a process of moving image playback in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. While moving imageplayback is performed, the display update timer 370 counts time. Whentime to update display comes (step S922), playback time is acquired fromthe moving image playback unit 310 (step S923), and the playbackposition information acquisition unit 320 acquires the positioninformation (step S924). If the acquired position information is notvalid due to position fixing failure, an error process is performed andthe displaying of the geographical name stops (step S930).

When the acquired position information is different from the precedingposition information, the corresponding geographical name information isacquired from the geographic name information database 700 (step S927),and the geographical name contained in the geographical name informationis displayed (step S928). The currently acquired position information isstored onto the preceding playback position information storage unit 330as new preceding position information (step S929).

These steps are repeated until the playback of the moving image iscompleted (step S921).

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the changepoint detector 240 detects the change point of in the position indicatedby the position information acquired by the image pickup positioninformation acquisition unit 220, thereby efficiently recording theposition information corresponding to the change point. When theposition indicated by the position information acquired by the playbackposition information acquisition unit 320 becomes different from thepreceding position as playback is in progress, the geographical nameinformation is acquired from the geographic name information database700, and the geographical name is correctly displayed during theplayback of the moving image.

During the playback of the moving image, the playback positioninformation acquisition unit 320 acquires the change point positioninformation 531 and the playback position information comparator 340detects the unmatch. The present invention is not limited to thismethod. If the moving image data recorded with only the positioninformation of the change point associated therewith is reproduced,there is no need for the playback position information comparator 340 todetect the unmatch. The change point of the position information fromthe associated metadata is simply detected, and the moving image isdisplayed with the position information overlayed thereon while theposition information is switched at the change point.

The embodiments of the present invention have been discussed forexemplary purposes only. As will be discussed below, the elements ineach embodiment correspond to the elements in each claim. The presentinvention is not limited to the correspondence discussed below, andvarious changes are possible in the correspondence without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.

For example, the moving image recording unit corresponds to the recorder150. The image pickup position information acquisition unit correspondsto the image pickup position information acquisition unit 220. Thepreceding image pickup position information acquisition unit correspondsto the preceding image pickup position information storage unit 230. Thechange point detecting unit corresponds to the change point detector240. The change point position information recording unit corresponds tothe change point position information 531.

The position measurement timer corresponds to the position fixing timer250.

The motion status measurement unit corresponds to the speed/accelerationmeasurement unit 280.

The representative image generating unit corresponds to the thumbnailgenerator 270. The change point representative image recording unitcorresponds to the change point thumbnail 532.

The moving image playback unit corresponds to the moving image playbackunit 310. The playback position information acquisition unit correspondsto the playback position information acquisition unit 320. The precedingplayback position information storage unit corresponds to the precedingplayback position information storage unit 330. The playback positioninformation comparing unit corresponds to the playback positioninformation comparator 340. The geographical name informationacquisition unit corresponds to the geographic name informationacquisition unit 351. The display unit corresponds to the display 360.

The display update timer corresponds to the display update timer 370.

The geographical name information storage unit corresponds to thegeographic name information database 700.

The incidental information storage unit corresponds to the metadata 530.The geographical name information acquisition unit corresponds to thegeographic name information acquisition unit 351. The display unitcorresponds to the display 360. The operation unit corresponds to theoperation unit 110. The moving image playback unit corresponds to themoving image playback unit 310.

The moving image recording unit corresponds to the recorder 150. Theimage pickup position information acquisition unit corresponds to theimage pickup position information acquisition unit 220. The precedingimage pickup position information storage unit corresponds to precedingimage pickup position information storage unit 230. The change pointdetecting unit corresponds to the change point detector 240. The changepoint position information recording unit corresponds to the changepoint position information 531. The moving image playback unitcorresponds to the moving image playback unit 310. The playback positioninformation acquisition unit corresponds to the playback positioninformation acquisition unit 320. The preceding image pickup positioninformation storage unit corresponds to the preceding playback positioninformation storage unit 330. The playback position informationcomparing unit corresponds to the playback position informationcomparator 340. The geographical name information acquisition unitcorresponds to the geographic name information acquisition unit 351. Thedisplay unit corresponds to the display 360.

The moving image recording unit corresponds to the recorder 150. Theimage pickup position information acquisition unit corresponds to theimage pickup position information acquisition unit 220. The precedingimage pickup position information storage unit corresponds to thepreceding image pickup position information storage unit 230. The changepoint detecting unit corresponds to the change point detector 240. Thechange point position information recording unit corresponds to thechange point position information 531. The representative imagegenerating unit corresponds to the thumbnail generator 270. The changepoint representative image recording unit corresponds to the changepoint thumbnail 532. The geographical name information acquisition unitcorresponds to the geographic name information acquisition unit 351. Thedisplay unit corresponds to the display 360. The operation unitcorresponds to the operation unit 110. The moving image playback unitcorresponds to the moving image playback unit 310.

Step S913 corresponds to the step of acquiring, as image pickup positioninformation, position information regarding an image pickup positionwhen a captured image is recorded as moving image data. Step S914corresponds to the step of detecting a change point indicating that aposition represented by the image pickup position information haschanged from a position represented by image pickup position informationpreceding the first image pickup position information, by comparing theimage pickup position information with the preceding image pickupposition information. Step S915 corresponds to the step of recording, aschange point position information, the image pickup position informationwhen the change point is detected.

Step S923 corresponds to the step of acquiring, as playback positioninformation, position information corresponding to playback time ofmoving image data. Step S926 corresponds to the step of detecting anunmatch by comparing the playback position information with playbackposition information preceding the first playback position information.Step S927 corresponds to the step of acquiring geographical nameinformation corresponding to the playback position information when theunmatch is detected. Step S928 corresponds to the step of displaying themoving image data together with a geographical name contained in thegeographical name information.

The process discussed with reference to the embodiments of the presentinvention may be considered as a method containing a series of steps.The process may be also considered as a program for causing a computerto perform the series of steps. The program may be stored on a recordingmedium.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising: moving image recording meansfor recording a captured image as moving image data; image pickupposition information acquisition means for acquiring, as image pickupposition information, position information regarding an image pickuplocation during recording of the moving image data; preceding imagepickup position information storage means for storing, as precedingimage pickup position information, the image pickup position informationacquired by the image pickup position information acquisition means;change point detecting means for detecting a change point indicatingthat a position represented by the image pickup position information haschanged from a position represented by the preceding image pickupposition information, by comparing the image pickup position informationwith the preceding image pickup position information; and change pointposition information recording means for recording, as change pointposition information, the image pickup position information when thechange point is detected, wherein the preceding image pickup positionstorage means stores, as new preceding image pickup positioninformation, the image pickup position information when the change pointis detected.
 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe change point position information is recorded with the moving imagedata associated therewith.
 3. The image pickup apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the change point detecting means detects the changepoint when a distance between the position represented by the imagepickup position information and the position represented by thepreceding image pickup position information increases above apredetermined distance.
 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim1, wherein the change point detecting means detects the change pointwhen a geographic name represented by the image pickup positioninformation becomes different from a geographic name represented by thepreceding image pickup position information.
 5. The image pickupapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a positionmeasurement timer for counting a time interval between acquisitions ofthe image pickup position information, wherein the image pickup positioninformation acquisition means acquires the image pickup positioninformation each time the position measurement timer counts theacquisition interval.
 6. The image pickup apparatus according to claim1, further comprising motion status measurement means for measuring amotion status of the image pickup apparatus during image pickup of amoving image, the motion status including information regarding one of aspeed and an acceleration of the image pickup apparatus, wherein thechange point position information recording means records, as a portionof the change point position information, the motion status when thechange point is detected.
 7. The image pickup apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising representative image generating means forgenerating, as a representative image, a contracted image of the movingimage being picked up when the change point is detected; and changepoint representative image recording means for recording therepresentative image as a change point representative image.
 8. Theimage pickup apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the change pointposition information and the change point representative image arerecorded, together with the captured moving image data, as informationincidental to the moving image data.
 9. An image pickup methodcomprising the steps of: acquiring, as image pickup positioninformation, position information regarding an image pickup locationwhen a captured image is recorded as moving image data; storing, aspreceding image pickup position information, acquired image pickupposition information in a storing device; detecting a change pointindicating that a position represented by the image pickup positioninformation has changed from a position represented by image pickupposition information preceding the first image pickup positioninformation, by comparing the image pickup position information with thepreceding image pickup position information; and recording, as changepoint position information, the image pickup position information whenthe change point is detected, wherein the storage device stores, as newpreceding image pickup position information, the image pickup positioninformation when the change point is detected.
 10. A computer readablerecording medium having stored thereon a program for causing a computerto perform the steps of: acquiring, as image pickup positioninformation, position information regarding an image pickup locationwhen a captured image is recorded as moving image data; storing, aspreceding image pickup position information, acquired image pickupposition information in a storing device; detecting a change pointindicating that a position represented by the image pickup positioninformation has changed from a position represented by image pickupposition information preceding the first image pickup positioninformation, by comparing the image pickup position information with thepreceding image pickup position information; and recording, as changepoint position information, the image pickup position information whenthe change point is detected, wherein the storage device stores, as newpreceding image pickup position information, the image pickup positioninformation when the change point is detected.
 11. An image pickupapparatus comprising: a moving image recording unit recording a capturedimage as moving image data; an image pickup position informationacquisition unit acquiring, as image pickup position information,position information regarding an image pickup location during recordingof the moving image data; a preceding image pickup position informationstorage unit storing, as preceding image pickup position information,the image pickup position information acquired by the image pickupposition information acquisition unit; a change point detecting unitdetecting a change point indicating that a position represented by theimage pickup position information has changed from a positionrepresented by the preceding image pickup position information, bycomparing the image pickup position information with the preceding imagepickup position information; and a change point position informationrecording unit recording, as change point position information, theimage pickup position information when the change point is detected,wherein the preceding image pickup position storage unit stores, as newpreceding image pickup position information, the image pickup positioninformation when the change point is detected.
 12. An image pickupmethod comprising the steps of: acquiring, as image pickup positioninformation, position information regarding an image pickup locationwhen a captured image is recorded as moving image data, in which theposition information is geographical information; detecting a changepoint indicating that a geographical position represented by the imagepickup position information has changed from a geographical positionrepresented by image pickup position information preceding the firstimage pickup position information, by comparing the image pickupposition information with the preceding image pickup positioninformation; and recording, as change point position information, theimage pickup position information when the change point is detected. 13.A computer readable recording medium having stored thereon a program forcausing a computer to perform the steps of: acquiring, as image pickupposition information, position information regarding an image pickuplocation when a captured image is recorded as moving image data, inwhich the position information is geographical information; detecting achange point indicating that a geographical position represented by theimage pickup position information has changed from a geographicalposition represented by image pickup position information preceding thefirst image pickup position information, by comparing the image pickupposition information with the preceding image pickup positioninformation; and recording, as change point position information, theimage pickup position information when the change point is detected.